Trader's Highlight

DJI-NEW YORK, April 28 (Reuters) - The dollar extended losses on Thursday, sparking a record surge in silver, but Wall Street rebounded in a late rally on bets a dose of poor economic data will not slow growth enough to derail the equity bull market.

Spot silver hit an all-time high of $49.51 an ounce as the dollar's slide and yet another record in gold triggered heavy speculative buying in precious metals.
The Dow Jones industrial average and Standard & Poor's 500 Index have rallied for six of the past seven sessions, while the Nasdaq this week surged to a 10-year high.

With trading volume weak and economic data suggesting a still unsteady path to recovery, it raises questions as to how much longer the equity market can maintain the rally.

NYMEX-NEW YORK, April 28 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures edge up after volatile trading on Thursday, but settled at their highest level since September 2008 as soft economic data reinforced expectations the Federal Reserve will stay with its loose monetary policy that has pressured the dollar.

But the same soft data that reinforced concerns about oil demand growth hindered oil's advance, traders said.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, June crude rose 10 cents, or 0.09 percent, to settle at $112.86 a barrel, the highest settlement since the Sept. 22, 2008 close at $120.92. Thursday's trading ranged from $111.69 to $113.97, the highest intraday price since prices reached $130 on Sept. 22, 2008.

CBOT-CHICAGO, April 28 (Reuters) - U.S. soybean futures ended sharply lower on Thursday on talk of fund selling of commodities, traders said.

Corn futures led the sell-off, which was initially sparked by an improved planting weather forecast for some parts of the Corn Belt.

Weaker crude oil futures also weighed on soybean prices, which breached various chart support levels just under $13.50 on the way down.

FCPO-JAKARTA, April 28 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures ended higher on Thursday, snapping a three-day losing streak with support from firmer crude oil prices, but investors expect further weakness due to a rising production cycle.

Benchmark July crude palm oil on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange closed 0.5 percent higher at 3,293 Malaysian ringgit ($1,105) a tonne. Prices had hit a one-week low in the previous session. Trading volumes reached 9,393 lots of 25 tonnes each, compared to 10,969 lots on Wednesday.

REGIONAL EQUITIES-BANGKOK, April 28 (Reuters) - Some Southeast Asian stock markets posted modest gains on Thursday amid optimism about the continuation of easy U.S. monetary policy, although local investors seemed wary about chasing overbought equities much higher.

The emerging share markets saw further foreign inflows after the Fed meeting cemented expectations for further fund flows into Asia, with the Singapore dollar hitting a record high against the dollar.

Its Singapore-listed Total Access eased 1.2 percent. Among bright spots, Singapore's Sembcorp Industries , a rig-building and utilities conglomerate, climbed 1.3 percent, leading gains among blue chips, on expectations it could benefit from a strong pipeline of oil rig orders and as its valuations remained cheap, traders said.